2017 Volume 24 Issue 1 Pages 23-33
Owing to significant changes in the industrial organization, sake breweries have adopted strategies to produce higher quality sake, such as jummai-shu and daiginjo-shu, as well as to improve the rice-polishing ratio of sake-brewing rice in order to cope with the slackening demand for sake. Accordingly the production of sake-brewing rice has increased, and reduction of distribution costs and improvements of production efficiency have been achieved with the cooperation of large-scale producers. Competitiveness of Nada City (Hyogo Prefecture) and Fushimi City (Kyoto Prefecture) where major sake breweries are concentrated has diminished due to a retail price war, while Yamaguchi Prefecture has intensified competitiveness with high-quality products and export expansion. Product differentiation and network expansion led by young entrepreneurs with experienced master sake brewers have opened up opportunities for management innovations. Furthermore, deepening cooperation between sake brewing business and agriculture has encouraged the formation of value chain which benefits both parties.
